Now I’m not a musician, but Rocksmith 2014 may be the coolest music game I’ve ever seen. Unlike the rhythm games I’ve played (and we’ve all played) in the past, Rocksmith really… well it really isn’t even in the same category. It’s not about button sequences for points. It’s not about high scores or difficulty settings. Rocksmith 2014 is about teaching you how to play an actual guitar.
Much like its predecessor, Rocksmith has retained many of the educational features that allow players who have never touched a guitar in their life to get started with the basics, and progress all the way to autonomous competence.
The demo I saw was heavily focused on a single new facet of the game, dubbed “Session Mode”, and this is where I was truly impressed. While in Session Mode, players will be able to simply play music, the twist being that AI band mates will begin to play along with you. You will be able to customize which instruments are in your band, and when you start to play, the AI will evaluate your style and will play to match it. If you start to speed up and play with more intensity, the AI will match you in real time. They even boasted that during moments are particular intensity, the AI will simulate “slip” (or something, I’m not a musician) in that they will not play in perfect harmony, trying to really give you the experience that you’re playing with real people, not robots.
We got to watch as the lead audio designer of the game jammed for four or five minutes, changing styles and speeds, and the AI matched him every step of the way. For those gamers that are really into music, this game seems like a must have, no doubt.
